\Set"tle\, n. [OE. setel, setil, a seat, AS. setl: akin
to OHG. sezzal, G. sessel, Goth. sitls, and E. sit.
[root]154. See {Sit}.]
1. A seat of any kind. [Obs.] ``Upon the settle of his
   majesty'' --Hampole.
2. A bench; especially, a bench with a high back.
3. A place made lower than the rest; a wide step or platform
   lower than some other part.
         And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the
         lower settle, shall be two cubits, and the breadth
         one cubit.                            --Ezek. xliii.
                                               14.
{Settle bed}, a bed convertible into a seat. [Eng.]

\Set"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Settled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Settling}.] [OE. setlen, AS. setlan. [root]154. See
{Settle}, n. In senses 7, 8, and 9 perhaps confused with OE.
sahtlen to reconcile, AS. sahtlian, fr. saht reconciliation,
sacon to contend, dispute. Cf. {Sake}.]
1. To place in a fixed or permanent condition; to make firm,
   steady, or stable; to establish; to fix; esp., to
   establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, or the
   like.
         And he settled his countenance steadfastly upon him,
         until he was ashamed.                 --2 Kings
                                               viii. 11.
                                               (Rev. Ver.)
         The father thought the time drew on Of setting in
         the world his only son.               --Dryden.
2. To establish in the pastoral office; to ordain or install
   as pastor or rector of a church, society, or parish; as,
   to settle a minister. [U. S.]
3. To cause to be no longer in a disturbed condition; to
   render quiet; to still; to calm; to compose.
         God settled then the huge whale-bearing lake.
                                               --Chapman.
         Hoping that sleep might settle his brains. --Bunyan.
4. To clear of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink;
   to render pure or clear; -- said of a liquid; as, to
   settle coffee, or the grounds of coffee.
5. To restore or bring to a smooth, dry, or passable
   condition; -- said of the ground, of roads, and the like;
   as, clear weather settles the roads.
6. To cause to sink; to lower; to depress; hence, also, to
   render close or compact; as, to settle the contents of a
   barrel or bag by shaking it.
7. To determine, as something which is exposed to doubt or
   question; to free from unscertainty or wavering; to make
   sure, firm, or constant; to establish; to compose; to
   quiet; as, to settle the mind when agitated; to settle
   questions of law; to settle the succession to a throne; to
   settle an allowance.
         It will settle the wavering, and confirm the
         doubtful.                             --Swift.
8. To adjust, as something in discussion; to make up; to
   compose; to pacify; as, to settle a quarrel.
9. To adjust, as accounts; to liquidate; to balance; as, to
   settle an account.
10. Hence, to pay; as, to settle a bill. [Colloq.] --Abbott.
11. To plant with inhabitants; to colonize; to people; as,
    the French first settled Canada; the Puritans settled New
    England; Plymouth was settled in 1620.
{To settle on} or {upon}, to confer upon by permanent grant;
   to assure to. ``I . . . have settled upon him a good
   annuity.'' --Addison.
{To settle the land} (Naut.), to cause it to sink, or appear
   lower, by receding from it.
Syn: To fix; establish; regulate; arrange; compose; adjust;
     determine; decide.

\Set"tle\, v. i.
1. To become fixed or permanent; to become stationary; to
   establish one's self or itself; to assume a lasting form,
   condition, direction, or the like, in place of a temporary
   or changing state.
         The wind came about and settled in the west.
                                               --Bacon.
         Chyle . . . runs through all the intermediate colors
         until it settles in an intense red.   --Arbuthnot.
2. To fix one's residence; to establish a dwelling place or
   home; as, the Saxons who settled in Britain.
3. To enter into the married state, or the state of a
   householder.
         As people marry now and settle.       --Prior.
4. To be established in an employment or profession; as, to
   settle in the practice of law.
5. To become firm, dry, and hard, as the ground after the
   effects of rain or frost have disappeared; as, the roads
   settled late in the spring.
6. To become clear after being turbid or obscure; to clarify
   by depositing matter held in suspension; as, the weather
   settled; wine settles by standing.
         A government, on such occasions, is always thick
         before it settles.                    --Addison.
7. To sink to the bottom; to fall to the bottom, as dregs of
   a liquid, or the sediment of a reserveir.
8. To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, as the
   foundation of a house, etc.
9. To become calm; to cease from agitation.
         Till the fury of his highness settle, Come not
         before him.                           --Shak.
10. To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an
    agreement; as, he has settled with his creditors.
11. To make a jointure for a wife.
          He sighs with most success that settles well.
                                               --Garth.